Pre-Flight Mixtape
Twelve punk songs loud enough to reach Mars.
A hand-built punk rock playlist for the launch pad — four decades of the genre in one countdown, from East Bay hardcore and Gilman-era Lookout! Records to Hellcat pop-punk and modern melodic punk. These are the best punk songs to blast on the way to the stars. Press play, point at Mars, and don't look back.
▶ Open the CD player on the home page- Dave Smalley's melodic hardcore — pure forward propulsion.
- A Jersey singalong built for liftoff.
- Hellcat Records pop-punk reaching for — what else — the stars.
- Blistering '90s pop-punk, gone in a flash.
- Ramonescore for the countdown.
- Philadelphia punk with a heart the size of a moon.
- East Bay hardcore, gloriously rude.
- An early Green Day deep cut, back before the stadiums.
- Reno punk with a mission.
- A Lookout! Records, Gilman-era gem.
- The anthem. Believe it.
- Orange County melodic punk — a bittersweet 2026 return.
About the mixtape
What is the 42 = Mars Pre-Flight Mixtape?
A hand-picked playlist of twelve punk songs loud enough to reach Mars — the soundtrack to humanity's next big launch. It spans four decades, from East Bay hardcore and Gilman Street's Lookout! Records era to Hellcat pop-punk and modern melodic punk, and it plays inside a hidden 1980s-style CD player on the 42 = Mars home page.
What are the best punk songs about space, or to launch to Mars?
Our twelve: "Best Friends" by Down by Law; "Kate Is Great" and "True Believers" by the Bouncing Souls; "Stars" by Orange; "Fear of China" by Oblivion; "Welcome to the Nuthouse" by Teenage Bottlerocket; "Jane" by The Loved Ones; "Everybody Makes Me Barf" by Fang; "Going to Pasalacqua" by Green Day; "Rebel Fate" by Cobra Skulls; "Razors" by Monsula; and "Just Like Night" by Gameface.
Where can I listen to the playlist?
Each track in the list above links to the song on YouTube, and the full playlist plays in the hidden 80s CD player on the 42 = Mars home page — open it from the tab on the left edge, or by clicking the 42.